My Familiar Stranger (21 page)

The centuries had started blur, one into another, in an endless stream of monotony. Suck. Kill. Suck. Kill. Suck. Fuck. Kill. He could howl from the tedium of it all, but what would be the point? He had insulated himself so perfectly no one would hear.

His conscience, the essence of humanity, and the memories from his brief life as human, were not restored gradually, but suddenly, without warning. That restoration created a state of wretchedness without equal because he also retained the memory of his life as a vampire. Even though he had not been in control of his behavior as a vampire, the guilt was staggering.

Determined to make amends, he quietly and quickly went about killing vampire who were using the tunnel system he created. It was ridiculously easy since they never would have expected death to be wearing Istvan Baka’s face.

He then sealed the entrances to the tunnels and turned himself in to The Order, volunteering to assist as a consultant or informant or in whatever other capacity would be useful. Now, having endured the passing of another century, that had become tiresome as well and he began to dream about death.

Then, one day, his atrophied interest was engaged as he passed through the central lobby of the New England unit of Black Swan. There, controlling a large and vicious black dog, was a provocateur; a female Swan; strong, beautiful, graceful, and very likely every bit as ruthless as the knights. What could be more intriguing?

Upon return to the tower keep cell where he was held in an ancient castle fortress in the Carpathian Mountains, Istvan Baka contacted Sovereign Sol Nememiah to say that he had considered the offer. He would agree to spy for The Order and assist in bringing an end to the current infestation in New York in exchange for a private, unbound audience with the Lady Swan.

At first, Sol didn’t understand the reference, but quickly put together that he was referring to their resident alien pilgrim, Elora Laiken. He learned that Baka had seen Elora in passing and that he was, apparently, under the misimpression that she was a knight.

A meeting was called to take place in the conference room adjacent to Sol’s office for B Team and Elora. They had no idea what it was about. It had already been decided that Ghost would take Lan’s place in ten days when Ram was cleared from the D.L. Plus, it was curious that Elora was included. When everyone reported to the conference room except Elora, they called her phone, but didn’t get an answer.

“Probably on the rugby field with her hellhound,” Kay said. Sol sent one of the older trainees who worked as an assistant to find her suggesting he start at the rugby field per Kay’s comment.

“So what’s this about?” Storm asked.

“We’ll wait until Ms. Laiken is present.”

Storm, Kay, and Ram exchanged looks then decided to use the time to avail themselves of the coffee service and cookies that had been set up at one end of the conference room.

Ten minutes later Elora came in with Blackie. Her cheeks were even pinker than usual from playing with the dog in the cool Autumn air. Ram thought she looked irresistibly kissable and pictured himself rubbing his cheek against the tip of her cold nose to warm it up.

She closed the door and unsnapped Blackie’s leash. The dog went straight to Ram and rested his big head on Ram’s thigh. Elora sat down in the empty chair next to Ram, took a half eaten cookie out of his hand and gobbled it down without pretense of courtesy. He smiled openly, loving the easy familiarity of an unapologetic theft. When she took a sip of his coffee and scrunched up her face, he laughed, “Serves you right. Get your own.”

“Shall we get down to business children?” Foregoing social pleasantries, which were not Sol’s forte anyway, he relayed Baka’s proposal while Elora made herself a cup of sugar and cream with a touch of coffee.

Storm and Ram answered in unison with an emphatic, “No!”

As she was reseating herself, Elora gave Sol a level look while stirring her cup. “I’m in.”

Ram gaped. Storm fumed. Elora ignored them both.

She took a sip and then continued, “Any ideas why he would make his agreement conditional on talking to me?”

“I didn’t ask. Anything more would be pure speculation,” Sol replied.

“Elora,” Ram looked flustered, “please believe me. ‘Tis one thing to read about vampire in trainin’ manuals and somethin’ quite different to come face to face with one. And, while we’re on the subject,” he turned on Sol, “you can no’ truly be thinkin’ to turn that monster loose in New York?”

Sol stood at ease with arms crossed over his chest and answered slowly. “Seen the news lately? The numbers of missing women have become alarming and we’re not getting anywhere. We’ve reached a point where the potential benefit outweighs the risk.”

Ram threw his hands up in a gesture of frustration and immediately regretted it, reaching for his rib.

Kay said, “What does he mean by private, unbound audience?”

“It would be more accurate to say semi-private. There’s a very large mirror in his room that is observation glass on the other side. You’ll be able to hear and see everything that transpires.”

“You’ll?” Storm said.

“I think we would all feel more secure if the three of you accompany her.”

Elora laughed softly. “Well, we must be certain you all feel more secure.” She looked at Sol in open challenge. “I have a condition.” The four men looked at her. “When we return, I want to be accorded the same freedoms as anyone else. I want to be able to go shopping or to performances of the arts or take classes or whatever. In the future, whether or not I’m ‘accompanied’ should be my decision.”

Sol sat down at the end of the table. “I need to consult with Monq.”

“Alright. Get him in here.” Elora sounded imperious.

“I’d watch my tone if I were you, young lady.”

Elora exploded out of the chair startling everyone in the room. “I don’t work for you, Mister Sovereign. And, unless you want to change that and make my employment official, what exactly is my motivation for watching my tone? What am I to fear? Incarceration?” The last word was scalding with sarcasm. “It’s simple. You need something from me. I need something from you. If such negotiating tactics work for a vampire, why not for me?”

Sol appraised her with a hard glint in his eye and a tick in his jaw. Then he reached for his phone and dialed Monq. “Can you come to my office straightaway?” He said to the group in general, “Wait here,” and left the room.

Ram and Storm were both a little stunned having never seen Elora on a rip. Being short on actual relationship experience, neither understood that every woman has a Medusa side.

“No need to hold back,” Kay turned to Elora, evidently enjoying himself, “just come straight out and say how you feel.”

“Look,” said Storm, “I know this place must feel confining.” Elora snorted. “And I agree it’s time to adjust your security clearance so you can move around more freely, but this audience with Baka thing… Ram is right.” He glanced toward Ram. “For once. You don’t just have tea with a vampire. They’re danger in the first degree, tricky, lethal, and evil -regardless of what the training manual says. And this is the oldest one we know of.”

Elora was unmoved. “I’m not being dismissive. I’ve spent enough time with the manual and the annals to know that what you’re saying is true. But I’m not the girl next door.” Reconsidering that she turned to look at Ram. “Well, I am the girl next door to
you
.” Returning a resolute gaze to Storm she added, “I’m strong and fast.”

“And way too cocky!” Storm interrupted.

“Even if that was true, it’s not your call, Sir Storm.”

In the middle of the argument, Storm found himself wondering when her accent had disappeared and when her speech patterns had become so informal, the cadence so contemporary. She was close to being able to pass as a native. He couldn’t decide whether he thought that was an improvement or not.

“And you’re not worried about the fact that he specified ‘unbound’? If all he wants to do is talk, why would he care whether he’s bound or not?” Storm asked.

“Good point,” Ram said nodding and pointing to Storm like he was Exhibit A.

Kay said, “Putting that aside for now, there’s the issue of trance.” He looked around. “We had nearly a decade of training to resist it. It’s not something you can pick up in a weekend workshop. If you’re hypnotized, all the strength and speed in the world won’t help you.”

“Not a problem. I’m not hypnotizable.” She looked at Ram. “Is that a word?” He just stared. She shrugged. “Ask Monq.”

She looked at her fingernails nonchalantly. The three were exchanging one of their telepathic looks when Sol and Monq walked in.

Kay dispensed with the pleasantries and pinned Monq, “Is it true she can’t be hypnotized?”

“Yes. That is true. A very useful trait should she decide to proceed with the meeting.”

Elora looked at Sol. “Did I mention that somebody needs to take care of my dog while I’m gone? Someone of my choosing.”

Storm looked at Monq like he was a traitor. “You’re going along with this madness?”

Monq turned toward Storm looking sympathetic because he wasn’t even trying to disguise his feelings for Elora. “Sir Storm, this is an ideal assignment for Ms. Laiken and, so far as security clearance goes, her profile scores indicate candidacy for top level duty.” He leaned toward Storm and whispered. “She outscored you!”

Storm huffed in response. “Why not just bring him here?”

“Baka has proven to be reliable to the letter of written agreement. Once a deal is made, he can be trusted to abide by it, but, he will not hesitate to take advantage of any contractual loophole no matter how minute.

We brought him here to assess the developing situation before it gets away from us completely, but transporting him, and striking bargains with him, well, there’s always a slight chance that we didn’t write a flawless contract. The facility in Romania is without equal. Until we need him out, he stays in.”

Quietly, Elora turned toward Sol, “So. Do we have a deal?”

He looked her over and said, “Yes. If you take the vow of secrecy. And, by the way, since you work for me now, you will give me the deference I require.”

“Yes sir,” she said seriously.

“You need to go get your inoculation.”

“What’s involved in that?”

“You never had shots as a child?”

“You mean with needles like they use in the infirmary?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Well, they administer tiny little doses of the vampire virus combined with an antidote and it instigates an immunity in your system.”

“Okay.” Then she brightened and turned to the three members of B Team. “Road trip!” she said with the exuberance of a person who had spent many afternoons steeping in American “B” movie culture. “When do we leave? How long will we be gone and, most importantly, what do I wear?”

If the prospect of Elora in a room alone with that thing wasn’t so horrifying, her excitement would be contagious. Storm regarded her for a moment and then coolly turned to Sol to play his trump card.

“What if the three of us refuse to go?”

“Then we’ll send one of the other teams.” Sol replied just as evenly and without hesitation.

Storm tightened his lips, gripped the arms of his chair, and looked at Kay who simply shrugged, opened his hands in a gesture of helplessness, and shook his head. Looking utterly disgusted with the turn of events, Ram, who had been pacing, flopped into his chair like a surly teenager, forgetting that flopping doesn’t help broken ribs. He winced silently.

Once everyone involved was resigned to the inevitable, they began making plans. First, The Operations Office arranged an identity complete with passport for Elora. Second, in Chamber, she formally gave the vow of secrecy to a triad of Sol, Monq, and the sitting government liaison with B Team as witnesses. She pledged never to reveal anything seen, heard, or learned about The Order for so long as she lived. Amen.

Elora reported to the med center for her first inoculation in the series. The needle was bigger than she had imagined, but not as big as vamp fangs as Ram was quick to point out. She was kept for two hours for observation to confirm that there were no immediate side effects of a debilitating or pernicious nature. The first injection is apparently the best indicator of whether or not the subject will tolerate inoculation.

After being cleared to leave, she spent the afternoon with Ram glued to her laptop at the combination dining desk, getting outfitted online for a trip far afield.

It was heaven to be close enough to smell her natural jasmine scent and feel the radiance of her body heat. It was hell to be close to her and not reach out to wind that shiny hair around his fingers. Or bury his face in her neck. Or pull her close to find out if her body would mold to his the way he imagined it would. A thousand times an hour.

As she concentrated on laptop shopping, he stared at the side of her breast. Sometimes he thought she suspected what he was thinking because he had the pleasure of watching her nipples tighten and bud through a silk shirt or a lightweight knit top. His hands were mere inches away from a caress. Once he literally put his hands between his thighs and the chair and sat on them because the compulsion to reach out and touch might override his will power.